HEALTHY MELROSE: 10 tips for preventing fitness-related injuries

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 11, 2013 at 11:10 AM

Do you find nothing worse than committing to “get in shape” only to be side-lined by injury? Are you someone who even with the best intentions just keeps getting hurt? Here are some straight forward tips that can keep you at the top of your game and pain free.

Holly Fitzgerald/ Healthy Melrose

NOTE: The author of this column is a supporter of the Healthy Melrose event, which will be held this year on May 4. Learn more about the event here or visit the Entertainment section. For more about the author, see details at the end of this column.

Do you find nothing worse than committing to “get in shape” only to be side-lined by injury? Are you someone who even with the best intentions just keeps getting hurt? Here are some straight forward tips that can keep you at the top of your game and pain free.

START WITH A PLAN: Kudos for you for getting up and making it to the gym. But now what? The key to implementing an effective, safe and progressive training regimen is to have a good plan.

Mentally you are not at the top of your game at 5 a.m. and knowing what you are going to do, and why, before you begin your workout will lessen the chance that you will do something you shouldn’t be doing, like the Burpees or box jumps that “college kid” next to you is doing.

WARM UP- Have you ever seen a professional athlete jump out of his car and run into the game? No! And neither should you. If you hop out if bed and into your running shoes you are putting yourself at greater risk for injury.

It is recommended that 5-10 minutes be reserved for increasing heart rate and tissue temperature by incorporating light cardio activity and dynamic movements that are representative of the activity in which you are about to undertake.

For example if you are going to play tennis a few minutes of jogging followed by lateral shuffling, jumping jacks, and Karaokes would be appropriate.

EASE IN SLOWLY: Whether you are trying a new form of exercise or starting from scratch the best approach is to implement change slowly. For example if you are looking to start a walking program but the longest you’ve even walked at a time is 15 minutes than your first day should be no longer than 18-20 minutes or about 10-15 percent more.

Err on the side of caution; assess how you are feeling throughout the walk and immediately after. Then assess how you feel the next morning. If you feel fine and are experiencing little to no effects than you can probably add time to the next walk. If you are remarkably sore and/or are experiencing pain, you may have overdone it and need extra time to recover. The next time you try and walk go the same (or slightly less) distance and reassess.

STRENGTH TRAINING IS A MUST: Everyone needs a baseline level of strength to prevent injury. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends the following:

Adults should train each major muscle group two or three days each week using a variety of exercises and equipment.

Very light or light intensity is best for older persons or previously sedentary adults starting exercise.

Two to four sets of each exercise will help adults improve strength and power.

DON’T OVERESTIMATE: As motivated as you may be by those infomercials for high-intensity interval training programs you are destined to get hurt if you go full tilt into one of these without a baseline level of fitness.

If you are overweight and have been relatively sedentary jumping into a regimen that involves sprinting, agility exercises, and heavy lifting is not a good idea. If you have not exercised for a while going in too hard, too fast will only get you hurt and halt your fitness goals while you rehab your injuries.

STOP DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN-Variety IS the spice of life. Statistically speaking the majority of fitness related injuries are repetitive-use injuries. By definition this means that an otherwise healthy tissue was succumb to an abnormal amount of stress over and over again to the point that it broke down. Varying your routine will reduce the risk of overuse.

RECOGNIZE THE WARNING SIGNS OF INJURY: when starting a new fitness routine it is common to experience the phenomenon of DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS is thought to be the side effect of the repair process of microscopic muscle damage. This soreness should not last much more than 24-48 hours and shouldn’t be associated with intense or functionally limiting pain. Discoloration, swelling, loss of motion or sharp pain in any joint are all signs of injury and should be addressed.

GET BACK TO THE BASICS: if you recognize that your hip does not love your new Zumba obsession the best thing to do is rest. The body has an incredible way of healing itself if given the opportunity to do so.

If your hip pain is always worse the morning after Zumba take a week off of Zumba and see how the pain plays itself out. Try something a little less intense, like walking, stationary bike or swimming and see how you feel. Icing the injured area several times a day for 15-20 minutes can be highly effective as well.

SEEK HELP FROM A PROFESSIONAL: If you have been experiencing pain for greater than 2 weeks that is not improving with self-care it would be appropriate to seek out the help of a clinician. Your health care professional can steer you in the right direction and assist you with a rehabilitation regimen, diagnostic testing and a proper diagnosis.

Guest columnist Holly Fitzgerald, owner of Fitzgerald Physical Therapy Associates in Malden and Woburn, has practiced outpatient orthopedic physical therapy for 15 years and her practice focuses on sports medicine and fitness related injuries. You can contact Fitzgerald through her website fitzgeraldpt.com and meet her in person at Healthy Melrose.